A rare sighting of a bandicoot occurred near Fyans Creek. The bandicoot was spotted by property owners and Jallukar Landcare members Catherine Carlyle and Clive Carlyle. “I was trawling through hundreds of images from our remote cameras, the usual wallabies, roos, possums, when the last photos in the series were obviously something different. “When I realised it was a bandicoot I almost fell off my chair,” Mr and Mrs Carlyle said. “Bandicoots are medium-sized, ground-dwelling, largely nocturnal marsupials, with long-pointed snouts.” Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning program manager natural environment Pauline Rudolph said this is “one of only two known populations of southern brown bandicoots on private property near the Grampians”. “The species was once more widespread, however, due to rabbit and fox control works and large fires, they have reduced in size and become locally extinct at some locations.” Mr and Mrs Carlyle said “dense bracken cover has allowed the Bandicoots to survive predation by Foxes and we have been actively fox bating since 2017 which will hopefully give them a boost. “Probably our main concern is fire, which would destroy the bracken cover and make the Bandicoots very vulnerable to foxes.” The discovery was made by remote cameras and the “detection of characteristic diggings made by Bandicoots foraging for food.

Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning program manager natural environment Pauline Rudolph said this is “one of only two known populations of southern brown bandicoots on private property near the Grampians”.

“The species was once more widespread, however, due to rabbit and fox control works and large fires, they have reduced in size and become locally extinct at some locations.”

Mr and Mrs Carlyle said “dense bracken cover has allowed the Bandicoots to survive predation by Foxes and we have been actively fox bating since 2017 which will hopefully give them a boost.

“Probably our main concern is fire, which would destroy the bracken cover and make the Bandicoots very vulnerable to foxes.”

The discovery was made by remote cameras and the “detection of characteristic diggings made by Bandicoots foraging for food.